CASTRO

CAFE JMI,
NEW DELHI
Architectural Group:Romi Khosla Design
Studio
Chief Architects:Romi Khosla, Martand Khosla
Design Team:Maulik Bansal, Praveen
Rajputh
Project Location:Jamia Milia Islamia, New
Delhi, India
Project Year:2007
Project Area:890 sq. Mt
Contractor:Zumair Khan, New Delhi
 A Cafeteria in
a University
Campus
located near
Auditorium,
Cultural Center,
Mass
communication
, was expected
to become hub
of all social
activities of the
Campus.

Most student canteens in India are not air-

conditioned, and are often poorly ventilated,
making them very hot and oppressive in the
summer and very cold in the winters
ARCHITECT:

ROMI KHOSLA
Architectur Due to the extreme climatic
conditions of New Delhi, where
al features the summer sees temperatures
of above 45 degrees centigrade,
Through out this and the winters often see
changing sense of temperatures below 5 degree
interior and exterior, centigrade.
the eating surface and
the seating surfaces This canteen was proposed as a
continue, almost acting Semi open air Caf. This
like stitches that tie allowed to have an ambient
this entire space temperature for most of the
together. year along with good
The idea was to try and ventilation, and a variety of
blur the boundaries
between inside and
degrees of shade from the
outside, where these climate.
undefined boundaries The design is truly unique and
act as a negotiator contemporary and we feel, will
between the user and herald a new age of
the climate of Delhi.
Architecture for the University.
This was the first steel
building built at the The building block has a kitchen
university campus. block to the east, which is a
All the elements of the fully enclosed space to cook
building are defined and serve in. As One walks
distinctly and along the length of the building
independent from each westwards, initially the eating
other. The walls dont
enclosure is defined by two
touch the floor and the
roof does not touch the walls and a roof, further still the
walls. sense of interior is defined by
one wall and the roof, further
still the space is articulated by
only one wall, and yet further
still, there is only the floor, and
then that too stops continuing.
FINISHES

Kitchen Walls :Marble

Cladding over kitchen
walls comes in handy for
this kind of busiest place.

Floor:Kota stone is the

hardest locally available
stone. Its slabs have been
used for flooring, skirting,
dado, risers of steps etc.
keeping in view the high
expected usability of the
building.
 Roof:Coated Tables:RCC
galvanized iron with granite top.
sheets lay over
steel framework

Ceiling:Perforated
aluminum sheet has Structure:
been used as a ceiling Kitchen:RCC and
so as to reduce noise Brick
levels within the
Eating
canteen. Lights have
been concealed in this Area:Steel
ceiling to achieve a
clean soffit.
WALLS
Here the wall
are entirely
different
from others

Here the walls

are slightly up
from the ground
and down from
the roof
For the
ventilation
purpose
and marble
strips are used
BUILDING BLOCK
CONCEPT
EXTERIOR OF CANTEEN
SOUTH EAST ELEVATION

NORTH EAST ELEVATION

NORTH WEST ELEVATION

GROUND FLOOR PLAN